The Mountain Oryx (Oryx mons montis) is a possible evolution of the Arabian Oryx which exists 50 million years from now, with the name speculating the type of habitat which it inhabits. It is slightly bigger than the present day Arabian Oryx and has many adaptations which greatly differ from the present day one.
Diagram
Hand drawn diagram of Mountain Oryx displaying structural adaptations
Source: Chen's Sketch
Scientific Classification Table
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Artiodactyla
Family
Bovidae
Subfamily
Hippotraginae
Genus
Oryx
Species
O. mons montis
Habitat and Range
The habitat of the Mountain Oryx will be uncontrollably different to that of the present day Arabian Oryx due to many factors. It is believed that fifty million years from now, Australia and North America will have collided with East Asia, whilst parts of North Africa and the Middle East will have linked with southern Europe, leading to the Mediterranean Sea becoming nonexistent. However, due to rising sea levels much of Africa and possibly the Middle East will be below sea,thus resulting in the herds of Arabian Oryx to move towards Europe and onto the Mediterranean Mountains, a long mountain range stretching from most of continental Europe into Eurasia approximately 4000 km in length and includes the present day Alps.
The Mediterranean mountains has become one of the coldest areas on Earth, being is notoriously famous for its vast amount of fauna and is home to the descendants of the European Rabbit and the Yak. The main predators of the Mountain Oryx are the descendants of the Coyote and Gray Wolf which have been inhabiting the alpine and sub alpine zones for approximately 10 million years.
Despite having lived in the same sort of habitat for 20 million years, the Mountain Oryx still has to dig burrows under trees too rest in warmth which help shelter if from constant gusts of wind and snowstorms. The Mountain Oryx will gather tree branches in order to keep their burrow warm and may spend on average two to three days living in one burrow before switching. Some may move to a different location and dig a new burrow if it believes that there are predators lurking nearby or if it detects a snow storm heading its way.
The climate up in the Mediterranean mountains may vary due to the long stretch of land it takes up but is generally very cold, dry and barren, with the temperature often reaching sub zero degrees even during the summer. Sections of the Mediterranean mountain above 3000 meters are known as the névé zone and has the coldest climate with the temperature between -5 and -15 degrees Celsius in the summer and as cold as -25 degrees Celsius during the winter. The névé zone is permanently coated with snow, thus making plant life very rare. Therefore, the Mountain Oryx rarely travels above 3000 meters except for times when it attempts to escape from predators. Sections between 2000 and 3000 meters are known as the alpine zone, which is less cold with the temperature between -5 to 4 degrees Celsius all year round with an abundant amount of wild flowers and grass in certain areas, leading to the herds of Mountain Oryx spend most of the day in the alpine zone finding food sources due to the low amount of predators. Between 1400 to 2000 meters is the sub alpine zone where the herds of Mountain Oryx rest. Many forests of fur trees can be found in this zone but the Mountain Oryx seldom visits the forest areas for vegetation due to the many predators lurking around. The Mountain Oryx never visits areas below the sub alpine zone due to predators such as the descendants of wolves, lynxes and bears whom roam the arable zone and lowlands.
The Mountain Oryx, similar to its ancestor the Arabian Oryx, remains strictly herbivorous despite living in an entirely different ecosystem and facing extreme shortages of food from time to time. Its main diet consists of dwarf shrubs, grass and flowers such as the stemless gentian, glacier buttercup, alpine dwarf orchid and mountain pine. The Mountain Oryx mainly scavenges for food at night as there are less predators about but still may be at high risk of being eaten by predators desperate for food. However, during winter the Mountain Oryx scavenges for food in the forests of the sub alpine zone, which although extremely risky, provides a plentiful amount of wild flowers and is the safest option due to heavy snow storms up in the alpine and névé zones.
Map of continents in 50 million years time showing the range of Mountain Oryx
The Mountain Oryx has many behavioral adaptations, the most notable one being to travel great distances consistently. Although the Mountain Oryx may spend some time with a particular herd, it prefers to travel on its own due to the scarcity of food and only travels with a herd when it believes that it is in grave danger. The Mountain Oryx frequently travels, usually from the European part of the Mediterranean mountains all the way to the Eurasian part and back continuously, feeding from food and water sources on the way and avoiding as much forest area as possible unless no food is available due to the many unforgiving predators that lurk within. Furthermore, traveling great distances on its own breaks down the necessity of competition for food with others of its kind, whom will often fight to the death with each other due to the extreme scarcity of plants in many parts of the Mediterranean mountains. Environmental pressure that could of given rise to the adaptation mentioned may be due to the fact that as the Mountain Oryx all stayed together in one area at first after migrating, food became more and more scarce in an already barren land, and thus, the individuals began to travel and spread themselves out in order to be able to retrieve more food and feed themselves.
Mating and reproduction
Another behavioral adaptation of the Mountain Oryx is that it has no particular mating periods and usually mates whenever it runs into another Oryx of the opposite sex. This is due to the fact that as the Mountain Oryx die at an extremely high rate due to the harsh environment, lack of food and predators, it must reproduce as quickly as possible in order to maintain the population and prevent the gene pool from stagnation. Therefore, it has become a habit for the Mountain Oryx to mate whenever possible, with the male gathering food for the female until the fawn is born and then moving on straight away so as to not have to compete for any food. This adaptation helps the Mountain Oryx as a group because it stops the number of Arabian Oryx from decreasing. Thus, in its lifespan of approximately ten to twelve years, a single Mountain Oryx may have mated a countless number of times. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the mating and reproduction behavior may be because the Mountain Oryx are constantly under threat by predators and scarcity of food and without efficiently reproducing the entire species may die out.
Structural Adaptations
Single long and sharp horn
The Mountain Oryx has structural adaptations which may be peculiar when compared with its ancestor, the Arabian Oryx. One of its structural adaptations is a single long and sharp horn on its forehead, which is useful as it makes it a lot simpler for the Mountain Oryx to defend itself against its predators and harms its predators very effectively. The single long and sharp horn is also useful as it is wider and as it is attached to its forehead the Mountain Oryx can see where it should attack, unlike the Arabian Oryx which had to lower its head in order to fight with its horns and was thus unable to see its attacker most of the time. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the single long and sharp horn may be because that as the Mountain Oryx had to face increasingly powerful predators which are not only big but also have sharp teeth to kill, they could only rely on their horn to develop into a more effective weapon .
Thick coat of fur
Another physical adaptation for the Mountain Oryx is its thick coat of fur. Unlike the Arabian Oryx, which had an extremely thin coat, the Mountain Oryx developed a thicker coat over a 20 million year period after migrating to the Mediterranean Mountains, where the temperature dropped from between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius to below 5 degrees during the summer. The thick coat of fur is useful as it allows the Mountain Oryx to spend many hours a day in the alpine zone scavenging for food whilst many of its predators are unable to do so, thus putting its life at less of a risk. Furthermore, if chased by predators, the Mountain Oryx can spend a few short hours in the névé zone, where no predators ever attempt to reach due to the terribly inhospitable climate. Environmental pressure that could of given rise to the thick coat of fur which the Mountain Oryx possesses is quite obvious as without the thick coat of fur the species will entirely die out within a extremely short period of time. Thus, like all forms of fauna that exist within the Mediterranean mountains, the Mountain Oryx has acquired a thick coat of fur in order to keep warm and not die in the cold, unreceptive environment.
Physiological Adaptations
Skin stores fat
The Mountain Oryx's main physiological adaptation is the skin's ability to store fat. This is useful since the Mountain Oryx lives in extremely cold conditions and thus needs not only behavioral and structural adaptations but also physiological ones in order to keep itself alive and thus, as its skin automatically stores fat, it helps the keep the Mountain Oryx warm, thus allowing it to spend more time in the cold alpine zone searching for food and possess enough body heat to stay alive. Another advantage of its skin being able to store fat is that it allows the Mountain Oryx to enter the névé zone to escape from many of its predators as they are unable to last very long above the alpine zone due to the cold weather and their lack of knowledge about the névé zone. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the Mountain Oryx's skin storing fat may be because that as the Mountain Oryx originally evolved from the Arabian Oryx, a native of hot desert and steppe areas, it unlike many animals native to the cold Mediterranean mountains did not have the capabilities or structural adaptations to survive from the cold weather and climate, it could only develop physiological adaptations which would help it combat the cold.
Mountain Oryx
Introduction
The Mountain Oryx (Oryx mons montis) is a possible evolution of the Arabian Oryx which exists 50 million years from now, with the name speculating the type of habitat which it inhabits. It is slightly bigger than the present day Arabian Oryx and has many adaptations which greatly differ from the present day one.Diagram
Scientific Classification Table
Habitat and Range
The habitat of the Mountain Oryx will be uncontrollably different to that of the present day Arabian Oryx due to many factors. It is believed that fifty million years from now, Australia and North America will have collided with East Asia, whilst parts of North Africa and the Middle East will have linked with southern Europe, leading to the Mediterranean Sea becoming nonexistent. However, due to rising sea levels much of Africa and possibly the Middle East will be below sea,thus resulting in the herds of Arabian Oryx to move towards Europe and onto the Mediterranean Mountains, a long mountain range stretching from most of continental Europe into Eurasia approximately 4000 km in length and includes the present day Alps.The Mediterranean mountains has become one of the coldest areas on Earth, being is notoriously famous for its vast amount of fauna and is home to the descendants of the European Rabbit and the Yak. The main predators of the Mountain Oryx are the descendants of the Coyote and Gray Wolf which have been inhabiting the alpine and sub alpine zones for approximately 10 million years.
Despite having lived in the same sort of habitat for 20 million years, the Mountain Oryx still has to dig burrows under trees too rest in warmth which help shelter if from constant gusts of wind and snowstorms. The Mountain Oryx will gather tree branches in order to keep their burrow warm and may spend on average two to three days living in one burrow before switching. Some may move to a different location and dig a new burrow if it believes that there are predators lurking nearby or if it detects a snow storm heading its way.
The climate up in the Mediterranean mountains may vary due to the long stretch of land it takes up but is generally very cold, dry and barren, with the temperature often reaching sub zero degrees even during the summer. Sections of the Mediterranean mountain above 3000 meters are known as the névé zone and has the coldest climate with the temperature between -5 and -15 degrees Celsius in the summer and as cold as -25 degrees Celsius during the winter. The névé zone is permanently coated with snow, thus making plant life very rare. Therefore, the Mountain Oryx rarely travels above 3000 meters except for times when it attempts to escape from predators. Sections between 2000 and 3000 meters are known as the alpine zone, which is less cold with the temperature between -5 to 4 degrees Celsius all year round with an abundant amount of wild flowers and grass in certain areas, leading to the herds of Mountain Oryx spend most of the day in the alpine zone finding food sources due to the low amount of predators. Between 1400 to 2000 meters is the sub alpine zone where the herds of Mountain Oryx rest. Many forests of fur trees can be found in this zone but the Mountain Oryx seldom visits the forest areas for vegetation due to the many predators lurking around. The Mountain Oryx never visits areas below the sub alpine zone due to predators such as the descendants of wolves, lynxes and bears whom roam the arable zone and lowlands.
The Mountain Oryx, similar to its ancestor the Arabian Oryx, remains strictly herbivorous despite living in an entirely different ecosystem and facing extreme shortages of food from time to time. Its main diet consists of dwarf shrubs, grass and flowers such as the stemless gentian, glacier buttercup, alpine dwarf orchid and mountain pine. The Mountain Oryx mainly scavenges for food at night as there are less predators about but still may be at high risk of being eaten by predators desperate for food. However, during winter the Mountain Oryx scavenges for food in the forests of the sub alpine zone, which although extremely risky, provides a plentiful amount of wild flowers and is the safest option due to heavy snow storms up in the alpine and névé zones.
Behavioral Adaptations
Traveling great distances
The Mountain Oryx has many behavioral adaptations, the most notable one being to travel great distances consistently. Although the Mountain Oryx may spend some time with a particular herd, it prefers to travel on its own due to the scarcity of food and only travels with a herd when it believes that it is in grave danger. The Mountain Oryx frequently travels, usually from the European part of the Mediterranean mountains all the way to the Eurasian part and back continuously, feeding from food and water sources on the way and avoiding as much forest area as possible unless no food is available due to the many unforgiving predators that lurk within. Furthermore, traveling great distances on its own breaks down the necessity of competition for food with others of its kind, whom will often fight to the death with each other due to the extreme scarcity of plants in many parts of the Mediterranean mountains. Environmental pressure that could of given rise to the adaptation mentioned may be due to the fact that as the Mountain Oryx all stayed together in one area at first after migrating, food became more and more scarce in an already barren land, and thus, the individuals began to travel and spread themselves out in order to be able to retrieve more food and feed themselves.Mating and reproduction
Another behavioral adaptation of the Mountain Oryx is that it has no particular mating periods and usually mates whenever it runs into another Oryx of the opposite sex. This is due to the fact that as the Mountain Oryx die at an extremely high rate due to the harsh environment, lack of food and predators, it must reproduce as quickly as possible in order to maintain the population and prevent the gene pool from stagnation. Therefore, it has become a habit for the Mountain Oryx to mate whenever possible, with the male gathering food for the female until the fawn is born and then moving on straight away so as to not have to compete for any food. This adaptation helps the Mountain Oryx as a group because it stops the number of Arabian Oryx from decreasing. Thus, in its lifespan of approximately ten to twelve years, a single Mountain Oryx may have mated a countless number of times. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the mating and reproduction behavior may be because the Mountain Oryx are constantly under threat by predators and scarcity of food and without efficiently reproducing the entire species may die out.Structural Adaptations
Single long and sharp horn
The Mountain Oryx has structural adaptations which may be peculiar when compared with its ancestor, the Arabian Oryx. One of its structural adaptations is a single long and sharp horn on its forehead, which is useful as it makes it a lot simpler for the Mountain Oryx to defend itself against its predators and harms its predators very effectively. The single long and sharp horn is also useful as it is wider and as it is attached to its forehead the Mountain Oryx can see where it should attack, unlike the Arabian Oryx which had to lower its head in order to fight with its horns and was thus unable to see its attacker most of the time. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the single long and sharp horn may be because that as the Mountain Oryx had to face increasingly powerful predators which are not only big but also have sharp teeth to kill, they could only rely on their horn to develop into a more effective weapon .Thick coat of fur
Another physical adaptation for the Mountain Oryx is its thick coat of fur. Unlike the Arabian Oryx, which had an extremely thin coat, the Mountain Oryx developed a thicker coat over a 20 million year period after migrating to the Mediterranean Mountains, where the temperature dropped from between 40 to 50 degrees Celsius to below 5 degrees during the summer. The thick coat of fur is useful as it allows the Mountain Oryx to spend many hours a day in the alpine zone scavenging for food whilst many of its predators are unable to do so, thus putting its life at less of a risk. Furthermore, if chased by predators, the Mountain Oryx can spend a few short hours in the névé zone, where no predators ever attempt to reach due to the terribly inhospitable climate. Environmental pressure that could of given rise to the thick coat of fur which the Mountain Oryx possesses is quite obvious as without the thick coat of fur the species will entirely die out within a extremely short period of time. Thus, like all forms of fauna that exist within the Mediterranean mountains, the Mountain Oryx has acquired a thick coat of fur in order to keep warm and not die in the cold, unreceptive environment.Physiological Adaptations
Skin stores fat
The Mountain Oryx's main physiological adaptation is the skin's ability to store fat. This is useful since the Mountain Oryx lives in extremely cold conditions and thus needs not only behavioral and structural adaptations but also physiological ones in order to keep itself alive and thus, as its skin automatically stores fat, it helps the keep the Mountain Oryx warm, thus allowing it to spend more time in the cold alpine zone searching for food and possess enough body heat to stay alive. Another advantage of its skin being able to store fat is that it allows the Mountain Oryx to enter the névé zone to escape from many of its predators as they are unable to last very long above the alpine zone due to the cold weather and their lack of knowledge about the névé zone. Environmental pressure that could have given rise to the Mountain Oryx's skin storing fat may be because that as the Mountain Oryx originally evolved from the Arabian Oryx, a native of hot desert and steppe areas, it unlike many animals native to the cold Mediterranean mountains did not have the capabilities or structural adaptations to survive from the cold weather and climate, it could only develop physiological adaptations which would help it combat the cold.Bibliography